Referencing Winston Churchill, one of the panellists, David Rubenstein, co-founder of the private equity Carlyle Group, said: "Capitalism may be the worst form of systems, except for every other system."

The chief of the International Trade Union Confederation disagreed. Sharan Burrow said "we've lost a moral compass" and warned of social unrest.

She called for companies globally to invest 2-3% of real investment in the creation of jobs, or what she termed the "productive economy".

A distinction was also made between the economies of the US and Europe - dubbed "laissez-faire capitalism" - and state capitalism, where the governments of nations such as China and Russia take a big role in creating jobs.

Later, amid the heaviest snow in Davos in 66 years, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will provide the keynote address that will officially begin the WEF, scheduled for 16:30 BST.